Spellbound
by MaygenLynn
Summary: For generations the Etoille and the Hale families have stood united against hunters, and all other things supernatural. For Cassiopeia Etoille and Laura Hale, its no different. But when Laura winds up dead, how will Cassie cope? And how will the plot be changed when you add a powerful witch like Cassie, and her practicing warlock brother Ryan to the mix? Derek/OC Read and Review!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Hey Teen Wolf fans! This is my first ever Teen Wolf story that I've actually been planning for a long time. I've always been a huge Derek fan, and hey, who can resist those green eyes? I really hope you enjoy this first chapter, and feel free to go and check out my other stories that I'm working on. My main ones are going to be this one, and The Sacred Bond of Family, and Take Back The Stolen Time, which are both stories from The Vampire Diaries. Let me know what you think in a review!

**There's pictures of who I'm portraying Cass and Ryan as on my profile along with the Polyvore link to their collection. Go check it out!**

_**-Spellbound-**_

_Lay my head, under the water  
Lay my head, under the sea  
Excuse me sir, am I your daughter?  
Won't you take me back, take me back and see?_

_There's not a time, for being younger_  
_And all my friends, are enemies_  
_And if I cried unto my mother_  
_No she wasn't there, she wasn't there for me_

_Don't let the water drag you down_

**Under The Water- The Pretty Reckless**

**-**_**Spellbound-**_

Magic.

A five letter word meaning the art of producing a desired effect or result through the use of incantation or various other techniques that presumably assure human control of supernatural agencies or the forces of nature. A word of which, Cassiopeia Etoille is very well acquainted with.

Death.

Another five letter word meaning, 'the end of life'. Also, another word of which, Cassiopeia Etoille is unfortunately, well acquainted with.

Cassiopeia, or Cassie/Cass, as she prefers to be called, has been practicing the art of Magic since the tender age of ten years old. She'd mastered the art by age nineteen, one year after running off to college from her hometown of Beacon Hills, California. After years of hard work in school, and various in school and after school activities, and hours of applying to several colleges, she got several acceptance letters. But the one she was most excited about, was the acceptance letter to MIT. After graduating high school, she immediately enrolled, packed her belongings, and flew out to Massachusetts with her father's and younger brother's blessings to study Anthropology. On the day her flight left, her father and brother drove her to the airport, and Cass swore that she had never felt the absence of her mother more than in that moment.

When Cass was twelve, and her younger brother Orion, or Ryan, was seven, their mother Samantha, who was a highly trained and powerful witch, was found dead in the basement of their home by their father, Cygnus. Her death was the product of a spell gone too far, a spell which the three magical beings had never discovered, a fact which their father said was probably for the best. It was truly a devastating time for the entire family, and many others, for Samantha Etoille was loved by many.

After three years away at school with rare visits, but many phone calls to her family and friends, Cass is heading home for a most likely permanent stay. Unfortunately, the circumstances aren't pleasant at all.

Two nights before, Cass had received a call from her hysterical brother. He had come home from school and found their father lying on the floor of the basement dead next to his grimorie, or in simpler terms, his spell book. For Cass and Ryan, it was a sickening coincidence, due to the fact that from the way Ryan describes the scene to Cass, the cause of Cygnus' death was a spell gone too far, just like their mother. While on the phone with her horrified, and distraught brother, Cass was already online buying a ticket back home while at the same time advising her brother what to do.

And so, two days later, Cass finds herself on a plane, with four suitcases full of her belongings in the baggage compartment on the plane. Hours later when the plane lands, Cass makes her way outside to hail a taxi, lugging her four heavy bags behind her. When she finally hails a cab, she and the helpful driver stuff her bags in the trunk, and in no time she's on her way to the small town of Beacon Hills. The entire ride takes an hour and a half, and its spent with Cass making idle conversation with the driver, and listening to her music. When arriving in Beacon Hills, Cass gives the driver her address, and soon after, she arrives in front of her house. She thanks the driver after they get her luggage out of the trunk, and she pays the fare, even tipping the nice man generously. She hurries inside the house, and once inside, she leaves her bags at the door and starts rushing around the house, looking for her brother. After discovering that her brother is nowhere to be found in the house, she takes out her cellphone and quickly calls him.

"Hey," he answers quietly.

"Ry, where are you?" Cass asks nervously, hoping that he hadn't been taken by the police to be put into foster care, which had been Cass' biggest fear since getting the call from Ryan.

"I'm next door," Ryan answers, and Cass breathes a sigh of relief.

"Okay, I'll be right over, okay?" Cass asks, heading for the front door.

"Okay," Ryan says, before he disconnects the line. She walks out the front door, and immediately cuts through the neighbor's yard, and knocks on the front door. Cass doesn't have to knock more than two times before the door is yanked open by Ryan. Cass takes one look at his blotchy face and bloodshot puffy eyes before pulling him into a tight hug.

"I'm sorry, Ryan. I'm so, so sorry," Cass says as tears come to her brown eyes. Her heart breaks when she hears her brother quietly crying into her shoulder and she squeezes him a little tighter. After a few long moments, Cass pulls away, and looks behind her brother to the neighbors who took him in; Melissa and her son Scott McCall. "Thank you for letting him stay," Cass says, genuinely thankful to the single mother.

"Anytime, sweetie," Melissa says, while wrapping the younger woman in a comforting hug, which Cass relishes in. "You let me know if you need anything, you hear me?" Melissa says, pulling away from Cass, and looking at her seriously. "Both of you," she adds, looking behind Cass at Ryan.

"We will," Cass says, sending Scott a small smile in greeting, which he returns easily.

"Come over sometime. We'll catch up on things," Melissa says, giving Cass' arm a friendly squeeze, and Cass manages a genuine smile and nod.

"I'll see you then," Cass says, heading for the door, putting a hand on Ryan's back, leading him out. When the two siblings enter their house, Cass softly closes the front door, and watches as Ryan slowly walks to the couch and takes a seat. The silence between the two lasts for what seems like hours, neither of them moving from their places, Cass standing by the door, and Ryan sitting on the couch. "So, um... Are you hungry? We can order a pizza, or go out somewhere...," Cass trails off, and Ryan shakes his head.

"I ate at Scott's," Ryan says, and Cass nods.

"Well... Um, you obviously don't have to go back to school for a little while. I can see if Scott or Isaac will bring you your homework so you can stay caught up, and I'll help you with whatever you need," Cass rambles, and goes to keep talking.

"Why does this keep happening?" Ryan asks, stopping Cass mid sentence, and she frowns at him.

"What?" she asks, dumbly.

"Everyone keeps leaving me," he says, his brown eyes filling with tears. "Mom, then the Hales, and now dad, even you," he says, narrowing his eyes at Cass, a few tears escaping and falling down his face.

"Ry," Cass whispers, feeling an unbearable amount of guilt welling in her stomach.

"It hurts, Cassie," Ryan says, letting out a choked sob, placing his head in his hands. "It hurts so much."

"Oh, Ryan," Cass says, taking a seat on the couch next to him, and wrapping her arms around him once again, letting her own tears fall. "I'm not leaving again, Ry. I promise."

The next morning both of the Etoille siblings are woken up by a knock at the door. Cass rises from the couch where she fell asleep with a groan, and slowly makes her way to the door. When she opens the door, a bad feeling rises in her when she sees Sheriff Stilinski standing on her front porch.

"Sheriff?" Cass asks, frowning slightly.

"Hey, Cass," Sheriff Stilinski says with a sad smile on his face, which puts Cass on edge immediately. "I heard you were back."

"Yeah, just got back yesterday," Cass says. "But I have a feeling that's not what you're here for," she continues, and Sheriff Stilinski looks at her, deeply apologetic.

"We have to take Ryan, Cass," he says, and Cass' heart stops.

"What?" both siblings ask at the same time, both with high levels of panic in their voices. Ryan quickly stands, moving to stand behind Cass.

"Look, believe me, if there was anyway around this-," Sheriff Stilinski starts.

"There is. Ryan can stay here. I'm 21 years old, I can take care of him," Cass defends quickly, her voice rising.

"Not legally you can't. Not yet anyway," the Sheriff says, looking at Cass seriously. "Look, the family willing to take him in is great Cass, and its not far from here at all," the Sheriff says.

"Our dad just died," Cass says coldly, her eyes narrowing into slits as she feels her magic flaring up inside her, the power coursing through her like electricity. "This can't wait?"

"I'm afraid not," Sheriff Stilinski says, sympathetically. "But you can file to become his legal guardian," he says, pulling a stack of rolled up papers from where they were sticking out of his front pocket, and handing them to her. She refrains from snatching them furiously out of his hand, and with a great deal of restraint, takes them slowly. "I know the judge that presides over those cases, so I can get a court date pushed for next week at the latest. I'm gonna do everything I can to get him back here as soon as possible."

This stunning amount of kindness from the Sheriff makes Cass feel an immediate bout of guilt for the way she'd been talking to him.

"The first thing you need to do is get all of that paperwork filled out as thoroughly as you can. As soon as you're finished, drop it by the station directly to me, and then you need to find a job as soon as you can. I read through your parents records and they left you both a large amount of money, but it won't last. Plus, they won't let you have guardianship without a job," the Sheriff says, and Cass' eyes drop to the floor until she feels her brother's hand on her shoulder.

"Why can't I just go next door?" Ryan asks, frowning in confusion.

"Yeah, Melissa's been taking care of him for the last couple of days," Cass says, mentally scolding herself for not thinking of this before.

"You guys-," the Sheriff starts.

"C'mon Sheriff. I mean, I have to get all this stuff done in a short amount of time, and I could get it done a lot easier if I'm not worrying about my brother. And I trust Melissa," Cass says brightly.

"Plus, if I'm right next door we can actually see each other while all of this is going on," Ryan adds, and the siblings frown when the Sheriff still looks slightly doubtful.

"Please?" Cass asks, and the Sheriff eyes both sibling's desperate faces, before sighing.

"I'll go next door and talk to Melissa," the Sheriff says, and Cass and Ryan smile in relief. "You," he says, pointing to Ryan, "go get some of your things. And you," he says, pointing at Cass, "get that paperwork filled out, and get it to me first thing in the morning."

Both siblings nod before Ryan slowly leaves his spot behind Cass to go upstairs to his bedroom. The small smile of relief slowly drops from Cass' face when she hears her brother upstairs.

"You'll get custody, Cass," Sheriff Stilinski says. "You've always been responsible. All you have to do is prove it to the judge."

"You think I can?" Cass asks, uncertianly.

"I _know _you can," he says sincerely, patting her shoulder a few times with a small smile before walking away, heading next door.

_**-Spellbound-**_

The days pass after Ryan leaves to stay with the McCall's. Cass took Sheriff Stilinski's advice to heart and as soon as the door shut behind Ryan, she got to work filling out every single piece of paperwork that she was given. First thing the next morning, Cass delivered the paperwork directly to the Sheriff, and he took them happily, promising that he would get word to the judge as soon as he can. After taking Cass' cell number, he swore to her that he would let her know the exact moment he found out when her court date was, and even told her he would gladly take up for her in court.

After leaving the station, Cass got set on finding a job, applying at nearly every single shop, restaurant, gas station, etc. in Beacon Hills. She decides that she'll wait just a few days before beginning to call places back to try to set up interviews. As everything was up in the air, processing, Cass remembers that she still has one major thing left to do; planning her father's funeral.

She'd contacted the morgue and found out that her father's death had been ruled as a severe heart attack. Doctors couldn't seem to find out why a perfectly healthy man's heart would just suddenly stop, and with no other external or internal signs of a cause of death, they decide to take the easiest route possible, which is surprisingly okay with Cass and Ryan considering they know the true cause of death.

This is why Cass finds herself at the funeral home, picking out a casket with Mrs. McCall.

"Are you sure you wanna do this today, honey? The funeral's not until next week," Melissa says in a soothing tone.

"I'm sure. I just wanna get this over with," Cass says as the manager walks in with a white binder full of pictures. A solid twenty minutes later, Cass has a beautiful black coffin with golden padding on the inside picked out. She takes this all rather well until the manager asks if she'd like to view her father's body, after which she has a minor break down, while Melissa refuses the offer immensely.

The next few days following are spent semi peaceful, as Cass lines up several interviews for several different jobs. The most surprising call back she received was the one she got from the auto body shop which she applied to just for the sake of it. Fixing cars with her father had always been a favorite hobby of her's, and over the years she'd become quite good at it, being able to fix major things on her own by the time she went off to college. Cass had always had an eye for all things pertaining cars.

The last project she and her father were working on was a red 1997 Corvette that her father had found in the local junk yard. Working together nearly everyday, the two had completely rebuilt the engine, redid the body work, and even switched out the interior. This car is still sitting in their garage with a tan tarp draped over it. Cass hadn't yet found the courage to touch it.

The interview at the auto body shop had went smoothly, and the man who owns the shop was particularly shocked when he saw that she had applied, and was even more astounded when she dazzled him with her knowledge of cars. She left the shop with high spirits when he told her that he'd get back to her, whether she got the job or not.

At around 2 a.m on a Sunday night, Cass finds herself in her living room, looking through the completed details of her father's funeral which will be taking place in only two days. She's startled out of her thoughts when there's a light knock at the door. She places the papers down on the coffee table in front of her before slowly walking to the door. She opens up the door, and her brown eyes widen significantly when she sees who's on the other side.

"Laura?" Cass asks, placing her hand on the door frame to steady herself.

"Hey Cassie," the other brunette says with a smile, her green eyes shining with happiness. The two girls stare at each other for a few moments before wrapping each other in a tight embrace.

"Where the hell have you been? I haven't seen you in years," Cass says, smiling despite the lump that had grown in her throat when she feels tears come to her eyes. Laura pulls back, her eyes looking just as glassy as Cass'. Cass steps out of the way so that Laura can enter the house.

"New York. What about you? I hear you went to Massachusetts. I always knew you were a genius, Miss M.I.T," Laura says, as the two friends take a seat on the couch.

"You hear right," Cass says with a small smile.

"Are you just back for a visit then?" Laura asks, curiously, and any trace of a smile vanishes from Cass' face. Laura frowns at her friend before her eyes move to the table, spying the various papers with the funeral arrangements on them. Laura's green eyes widen slightly before she looks at her friend who's dark eyes are glued to her hands. "Oh no... Cass-," Laura starts.

"It happened last week. He... Over did it with a spell I guess. Ryan found him in the basement," Cass says quietly, and Laura grabs one of Cass' hands in her own as a form of comfort. "The funeral's in two days."

"And I'll be there," Laura says, making Cass smile slightly.

"So, what are you back for?" Cass asks, switching topics before her sadness becomes overwhelming once again, and Laura's face becomes quite serious.

"I can't get it out of my head," Laura says after a few moments of complete silence. She rises from her seat on the couch and begins to pace in front of the television, while Cass watches her with a confused expression on her face. "It wasn't an electrical fire, Cassie," Laura says suddenly, looking at Cass with an almost crazed look in her eyes.

"Laura-," Cass sighs with a sad look on her face.

"You know it wasn't, Cassie," Laura says, and Cass merely looks at her friend.

"So that's what you're back for. To try to find out what happened?" Cass asks and Laura nods.

"I need to know. Its driving me crazy," Laura says with a desperate look on her face. "Derek... He's trying to forget. He wants to stay as far away from here as possible... But I can't forget. I've been taking care of him and putting it off for six years, and I can't just do nothing anymore."

Cass watches her friend for a few moments, eyeing the way the brunette grips her hair tightly in her hands as her thoughts seem to race a mile a minute.

"So when do we start?" Cass asks, and Laura's eyes snap to Cass' dark ones. "You're my best friend Laura. You don't really think I'm gonna let you do this alone, do you?"

_**-Spellbound-**_

The day of the funeral comes faster than Cass would have hoped. She gets ready in her bedroom with the help of Laura, who had taken up residency in the guest bedroom of the Etoille household. Cass had practically ordered Laura to stay with her when Laura admitted that she was going to be staying in a hotel during her stay in Beacon Hills. With much protesting, and guilt tripping, Cass had convinced Laura to stay. The day after Laura arrived, Cass had explained the entire situation with Ryan, and how Cass is trying to gain custody of her younger brother, and Laura promised that she would help in anyway that she could, making the other brunette's heart swell with happiness.

"There," Laura says after she finishes flat ironing Cass' naturally curly hair. "Now you look even more pretty than usual."

"Well, thanks," Cass says with a grin as she turns around in her seat to look at Laura. Laura wears Cass' black thin strap studded dress that reaches just below mid thigh. She wears a pair of black flats, protesting and refusing immediately when Cass offers her a pair of heels, the leggy brunette claiming that she's tall enough as it is. This makes Cass laugh and nod, letting Laura borrow a pair of flats.

Cass wears a black lacy dress that nearly touches mid thigh with a pair of heels, and a black cardigan. Underneath the dress she wears a pair of detailed tights. For accessories she wears her usual moonstone necklace, ring, and bracelet that she had been wearing for years.

The moonstone was the Etoille family's stone. Their family had been passing down the magic gene for generations, and each child born under the Etoille name has been named after stars and constellations for centuries. The Etoille family have always been werewolf sympathizers, effectively causing a unity between the Hales and the Etoille's, which is how Laura and Cass inevitably became friends. The two girls have known each other since they were small children, seeing as how Cass' dad, and Laura's dad were friends since they too were children. The Etoille's and Hale's had always been there for each other when the other family needed assistance, resulting in a centuries long friendship between the two supernatural families. Due to this friendship with werewolves, it seemed only fitting that the families stone would be the moonstone. Each particular stone which is placed in pieces of jewelry, is enchanted, letting the witch or warlock wearing them draw more power from it in times of crisis.

When both girls deem themselves ready, there's a knock at Cass' bedroom door. She opens up the door and smiles slightly when she sees her brother standing on the other side dressed in a black suit. She notices that his tie isn't tied so she wordlessly begins tying it for him.

"You look good," Cass says, looking into his dark eyes briefly before returning to her work.

"So do you. Both of you," Ryan says, glancing behind Cass at Laura. Cass sees Ryan's eyes linger on Laura for a few moments which makes her grin with amusement, seeing as how Ryan has had a crush on Laura for years.

"Thanks Ry," Laura says with a grin which makes Ryan blush slightly, and look back at his sister. He narrows his eyes at her when he sees her amused grin. Luckily for him she finishes tying his tie around this time, so he steps away, ready to make a hasty exit.

"Melissa and Scott are meeting us at the funeral home," Ryan says quietly. The night before Cass had uncovered and taken the Corvette out for a test drive, and after finding everything had worked just as well as it did before, she decided that she would drive herself and Laura to the funeral, and after a chat with Melissa, they decide that Ryan would ride with them. Melissa felt that it wouldn't be right for the two siblings to arrive at their father's funeral without each other.

"Okay. We have some stuff to set up before it starts, so we should get going," Cass says, and together the three of them pile into the Corvette and in minutes they're at the funeral home. Laura gladly helps the two siblings set up chairs and different flowers that had been sent to the funeral home for Cygnus' funeral by his many friends.

The service itself takes just a little over an hour, and the turn out is as large as Cass expected it would be. As Cass gives her father's eulogy, she looks out at the crowd and spies many people she hadn't seen in years, including Sheriff Stilinski's son Stiles, the Whittemores, the Martins, and the Laheys. After the funeral and the burial, Cass had arranged a small reception at her house. She and Laura had spent the day and the majority of the night preparing food, and buying drinks for this occasion. More people than she expected show up at her home after the funeral, all to express their condolences. Thankfully, more than half of the people bring dishes of casseroles and deserts that Cass, Ryan and Laura all set out on the counters and tables for people to eat from.

"We're gonna have to get a bigger refrigerator," Ryan comments after an elderly woman hands Cass a large chocolate cake, which neither of them have any complaints about.

"No kidding," Cass mutters as she walks into the kitchen, where she finds Laura eating apple pie out of the tin plate it came in. "Chocolate cake," Cass says, catching Laura's attention immediately.

"Hide it. We'll eat it later tonight," Laura says with a sneaky grin on her face.

"Just what I was thinking," Cass says, opening the refrigerator, and placing the cake at the back.

"What is it with people and food anyway? 'Sorry about your loss, eat some food,'" Laura says, waving her fork around for emphasis. This makes Cass laugh lightly.

"At least its good food. I won't have to cook for a month," Cass says, eyeing everything on the table.

"Has the sheriff said anything to you?" Laura asks, and Cass shakes her head.

"He hasn't really had the time if he was gonna say anything here. I've been bombarded with people for the last thirty minutes," Cass says with slight annoyance.

"It wouldn't be very tactful to say anything today, anyway," Laura comments, and Cass nods her head in agreement. Laura opens up the silverware drawer and hands Cass a fork before pushing the pie plate closer to her, making the girl grin and start eating from the pie as well.

"There you are," Ryan's voice calls from the entrance of the kitchen. "Thought you got lost," he says as he and his best friend Isaac Lahey enter the kitchen.

"No, just escaping the chaos for a little while," Cass says. "Whoever made this pie is a genius though. Have some," she says, and Laura pulls out two more forks for the two teenagers who just came in. "I haven't seen you since I got back," Cass says to Issac. "How're you doing, Isaac?" she asks, pulling the younger boy in for a hug, which he comfortably responds to.

"Pretty good. Glad you're back, Cass," he says quietly, making Cass grin. Isaac had always been a shy, quiet boy, even as a small child. Isaac and Ryan had been best friends since Kindergarten, and Cass had come to think of the boy as a second younger brother, despite the small obvious crush he had on her for a brief time.

"Think it'd be okay if we went upstairs to play X-Box?" Ryan asks after a few moments of them eating, and Cass nods.

"See if Scott and Stiles wanna go, too. I'm sure they're probably bored out of their minds," Cass says, and the two teens bolt out of the kitchen.

Later, after everybody decided to make their way home, Cass and Laura both flop onto the couch, the only sound in the house being the shouts of the four boys upstairs. Isaac and Stiles' fathers allow them to stay after Cass promises to get the two boys home safely, Isaac's father much more reluctantly than the Sheriff. Melissa, of course, sees no problem with letting Scott stay considering he lives right next door, and tells her son and Ryan to stay as long as they'd like, as long as they're back at the house before midnight.

"I'm so glad we got paper plates," Cass groans, kicking her heels off, and Laura groans in agreement.

"We can clean everything up tomorrow," Laura says, and Cass nods, slinging an arm over her eyes.

_**-Spellbound-**_

Two days after the funeral, Cass finally receives a call back from Sheriff Stilinski informing her that her court date is set for the end of the week, which fills Cass with anticipation. Around this time, Laura had been disappearing early in the morning, and staying gone until early evening, to late at night. Despite Cass' offer to help Laura with whatever it is that she's trying to figure out, it seems that Laura is doing everything that she can to prevent Cass from helping.

When the morning of the court date rolls around, Cass finds herself sitting on the couch in the living room, fiddling with her moonstone necklace, her hands shaking violently due to her nervousness. She rises from the couch when there's a honk outside, and she walks outside, getting into the Sheriff's vehicle. She's grateful that he offers to give her a ride to the courthouse, and the entire ride is spent with the Sheriff prepping Cass on what's to come. When they arrive and walk inside, they're immediately greeted by Melissa, Ryan, and Scott, who'd come to support his friend.

When the case begins, Cass feels as if though she could vomit. The feeling increases when the judge begins asking her questions. He asks her the basic question; her age, if she had a job, if she graduated high school, why she thinks she'd be able to take on the responsibility of becoming a legal guardian to a fifteen year old boy. It was around this time that the judge began asking Sheriff Stilinski questions about Cass, and if he thought that she would be a suitable guardian to Ryan, he also questioned Melissa, and Ryan himself.

The entire court case lasts about an hour, and the judge takes his time telling Cass what his ruling is. She feels tears come to her eyes out of pure joy when the judge rules in her favor, proclaiming her as Ryan's legal guardian. The two siblings will be getting follow up visits from a social worker every six months, and the judge lets a pleasant grin slip through his tough exterior when the two siblings hug out of relief. As Cass and Ryan are walking out of the courtroom, they see Laura sitting in the back with a wide grin on her face.

"I'm so happy for you guys," she says, enveloping both siblings in a tight hug.

"How did you get here?" Cass asks while smiling, not even the slightest bit upset like she was earlier when she thought Laura wasn't going to show up at all. Laura takes the keys to Cass' Corvette out of her jacket pocket, and drops them into Cass' hand. After profusely thanking Melissa and Sheriff Stilinski, the trio get into the Corvette, ready to leave. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm starving," Cass says, and the other two agree.

After having an early lunch, the three of them head back to the house for much needed relaxation after the stress of the past few weeks, even Laura decides to stay in instead of researching at the library and other places around Beacon Hills like she'd been doing for the last few days.

"You know, I wish you'd let me help you," Cass says to Laura later that night.

"I've got it covered, Cass. Really. All I'm doing is researching," Laura says nonchalantly, but Cass can sense the uncertainty coming from her friend.

"You'd tell me if you needed help, right?" Cass asks, frowning at her friend worriedly.

"You know I would," Laura says, and Cass can't help but agree. Laura's always been a proud person but she's not stupid. She knows how to ask for help when she actually needs it. "I'm not gonna be here when you wake up tomorrow, but I'll probably be back around sometime in the late afternoon."

"Okay," Cass says, watching Laura rise from her spot in the living room.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she says, walking up the stairs to go to the guest bedroom.

"Alrighty," Cass says, leaning her head back on the couch and shutting her eyes.

Little did she know, that would be the last time she saw her best friend alive.

_**-Spellbound-**_

**A/N: **And there's the first chapter! I hope you guys liked it!

**Outfits for the characters on my Polyvore. Link on my profile! **

**Questions?**

**Comments?**

**Suggestions?**

**Leave them in a review! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Teen Wolf or any of its characters. Any original stuff you see is mine, and mine only.

_You know we can get away  
Because I'm calling your name  
Every day I feel this pain  
But you just turn and walk away_

_I just can't keep hanging on, to you and me_  
_I just don't know what is wrong, with you and me_

**Hanging On – Ellie Goulding**

**-_Spellbound-_**

Three days have passed since the morning Laura left to go 'research', and Cass is rightfully worried. She currently finds herself cooking dinner for Ryan and herself, while having her cell phone glued to her ear, calling Laura's cell phone again.

"Need any help?" Ryan asks, as he enters the kitchen and sees Cass cooking.

"Um, yeah, could you tear up that lettuce for the salad, and put it in this bowl?" Cass asks, putting a large bowl on the counter next to the lettuce. "Just fill it up half way, or less if you aren't gonna have any," she says, as she puts the lasagna she's making in the oven. "Hey, Laura," Cass starts as she gets Laura's voice mail. "Its me again. I'm getting worried about you. So could you call me or even text me back? Anything to let me know you're okay? I'll call again later," Cass says before hanging up the phone, and leaning against the counter.

"Still not answering, huh?" Ryan asks, looking over his shoulder at his grim faced sister.

"Nope," Cass says with a sigh, glancing at her phone screen before setting the device down.

"I'm sure she's fine. She's probably caught up in her research," Ryan comments offhandedly.

"No, this isn't normal. She'd at least text me to let me know she's okay," Cass says, and Ryan looks to be lost in thought for a few moments.

"I guess you're right," he says. "Especially with how many times you called her," he mutters, before laughing when Cass slaps the back of his head. "Anyway, why don't you try calling Derek? See if he's heard from her."

"That's not a bad idea," Cass says after a few moments of thoughtful silence, before picking up her phone and scrolling through her list of contacts. She'd gotten the younger werewolf's number from Laura just a few days before she disappeared in case of an emergency. She finds Derek's name, and presses the green 'call' button next to his name, and leaves the kitchen when the line begins ringing. After it rings four times, she almost ends the call, thinking that he's not going to answer.

"Hello?" a deeper voice than Cass expects answers and she frowns slightly.

"Hi, Derek?" Cass asks, running a hand through her brunette hair.

"Yeah?" he answers shortly, making Cass roll her eyes slightly at the familiarity of his tone.

"Hey, it's Cass," she answers, hoping her recognizes the name.

"Etoille?" he asks, and she lets out a small sigh of relief.

"Yeah. Listen, have you talked to Laura lately?" she asks, and the line is silent for a few tense moments.

"No," he says, and Cass' stomach drops. "I haven't heard from her in three days."

"Yeah, me either. She hasn't been back to the house, she hasn't been answering my calls or texts... I'm worried," Cass says, dropping down onto the couch in the living room. "She left the other day to do research, and she never came back. I mean, it wouldn't make sense for her to just leave without telling somebody, let alone leave her stuff here."

"I wouldn't worry too much, Cass," Derek says, an odd tone in his voice. "Laura's been like this lately. Give her a couple more days to show up, and if she still hasn't gotten back to you, give me a call, okay?" he asks, and Cass is silent for a few moments.

"Okay," she finally agrees. "Can you do me a favor and let me know if she gets in touch with you?"

"Yeah," he answers simply, and Cass clears her throat to fill the awkward silence.

"Okay. Thanks Derek," she says, and goes to end the call.

"Hey Cass," Derek says, capturing her attention again. "I'm sorry about your dad," he says in a slightly gentler tone than before. This makes Cass smile slightly.

"I'll talk to you later," Cass says, letting the smile be heard in her voice, and she hangs up the phone.

"So, what's the verdict?" Ryan asks as she reenters the kitchen.

"Wait a few more days," Cass mumbles, calling Laura again.

_**-Spellbound-**_

A week passes with no word from Laura or Derek. A short thirty second call to Derek letting him know that she'd had no contact at all with Laura was the most she's gotten. Cass is determined not to let this keep her from going on with her life and she goes to work, and lives as normally as she can, helping Ryan practice his magic, and helping him get ready for school to begin.

Ryan tells Cass that he's more than okay to begin the next school year when everybody else does, not wanting to take any time off. Cass is more than okay with this.

On Saturday, after a long day at the auto body shop, Cass comes home and immediately showers. After her shower, she gets dressed, and collapses onto her bed, letting out a soft groan of relief. That groan of relief turns to an even louder groan of dismay when somebody knocks on the front door of the house.

"No," Cass groans into her pillow. She reluctantly pushes herself off of her bed and drags herself downstairs. When she opens the front door her eyebrows shoot to her hairline when she sees the overly attractive man standing on the other side in a leather jacket with his arms crossed over his chest. "...Derek?"

"Hey, Cass," he responds, and Cass merely gawks at him for a few moments.

"Wow... You... You grew up," Cass says, with a hint of awe in her voice. Her look of amazement drops when a cocky smirk appears on Derek's face. "Anyway," she says after clearing her throat, and stepping to the side to let him into the house. He hesitates for a few moments before walking inside. "Have you heard anything from Laura?"

"No, that's why I'm here," Derek says, and Cass nods.

"I went through some of her stuff... Don't tell her," Cass says, wincing slightly, not even wanting to think of the lecture Laura would put her through if she knew that Cass went through her belongings. "I didn't find anything that would even remotely clue us into where she's at or what she's been doing except this," Cass says while pulling a slip of paper off of the coffee table in the living room. On this paper is a drawing of a symbol that Cass had never seen before. "Know what this is?"

"No idea," Derek says, taking the paper from Cass. "I've been trying to track her scent, but its all over the place. Nowhere's very strong though," he finishes, and Cass' heart starts to beat a little faster with worry.

"You think she's okay, right?" Cass asks, a deep frown appearing on her face. Derek merely stares at her for a few moments, before glancing at the paper again. Without a word he starts for the door.

"I'm gonna keep looking. I'll let you know if I find anything," he says, and before Cass can say another word, he's gone.

Derek doesn't show up again until the next night after Ryan is already asleep. He doesn't bother knocking on the door and Cass looks up from the couch, startled as he walks in the house. He raises a hand tiredly to her when he sees her open her mouth to berate him for barging into her house without knocking.

"Can you do a tracking spell?" Derek asks, quietly, the countless hours of searching wearing him down.

"I tried already," Cass says, running a hand through her hair. "For it to actually work I'd need something very personal of hers and... The blood of a family member," she finishes, looking at Derek meaningfully. Her eyes drift to his jacket pocket when he shoves his hand inside and pulls out a necklace. He tosses it to her, and she catches it easily.

"Our mom gave that to her years ago. I found it at the house. She must have dropped it there or something," Derek says. "Use my blood."

"Come on," Cass says, immediately rising from her seat and heading toward the basement. Derek follows behind her and shuts the basement door behind him. After hurrying down the numerous stairs, Cass quickly pulls out the large map of northern California and lays it out on the floor. She places a few candles around the map, and grabs a small steel switchblade. With a short wave of her hand, the candles around the map ignite, and she kneels onto the floor. Derek does the same when she gestures for him to, and Cass gently places the necklace on the corner of the map. "Okay, give me your hand. Sorry about this in advance."

Cass takes Derek's offered hand, and quickly makes a gash on his palm. He makes no sound of pain and Cass curls both of her hands around Derek's larger one and squeezes his hand shut over the map, letting his blood drip on it. When a decent amount of blood is collected, Cass shuts her eyes and begins reciting the spell that will hopefully help find her best friend. After a few minutes of this, she reopens her eyes, and she frowns in confusion when Derek's blood collected in two different places on the map.

"I... I guess she's in one of these two places. I must have said something wrong during the spell," Cass says, wringing her hands together. "These woods aren't too far from here."

"Thanks," Derek says simply, before rising to his feet and starting up the basement stairs. Cass watches him for a few moments before hurrying after him.

"I'm going with you," Cass says, authoritatively. Derek gives her an annoyed look, that she has no problem returning. "She's my best friend. I'm gonna help find her."

"Fine," Derek sighs, and Cass follows him out the door, not hesitating to get into the passenger side of his sleek, black Camaro, which she makes a mental note to admire later. The drive to the conservation area is spent in silence, and Derek parks his car not far from where his old home was. He pulls a flashlight out of the trunk of his car, and hands it to Cass, who takes it without hesitation, and turns it on.

"What the hell would she be doing this far out into the woods?" Cass asks after about twenty minutes of walking. "I'm just glad I'm not wearing my heels."

"You still wear those stupid things?" Derek asks, sounding amused.

"Am I six feet tall? No? Then yes, I still wear them," Cass says, glaring at the tall werewolf beside her.

"Your height insecurity is stupid," Derek says, bluntly, and Cass rolls her eyes.

"Your leather jacket is stupid," she remarks childishly, and out of the corner of her eye, she sees Derek glare at her, before subtly looking down at his jacket.

"You still suck at lying," Derek says, and Cass huffs indignantly.

"Whatever," she grumbles, shining the flashlight in front of her. "Maybe we went the wrong way," Cass suggests when there's still no sign of Laura. "Maybe she's at the other spot the map showed," she suggests again, and turns on her heel quickly when she hears the sound of a girl scream. "What the hell?" she asks, and glances at Derek, only to find him looking straight ahead of them. "What? What is it?" Cass asks, before shining her flashlight where he's looking.

She swears that she's dreaming. That this is all some horrific nightmare that she's gonna wake up from soon enough. She tells herself several times in her mind that none of this can be real as she looks at the severed top half of Laura's body.

Cass is too shocked to move. To shocked to make a sound. Too shocked to do anything but stand there, staring into her best friend's wide lifeless green eyes.

"Laura?" Cass whimpers, a horrified look plastered on her face. She feels as if all of the air had been pushed out of her body, and she struggles to breathe as she drops to her knees. Cass vaguely hears the sound of sirens blaring in the distance, and soon after, she feels herself being hauled to her feet and quickly carried away by Derek.

_**-Spellbound-**_

After a long night of crying and zero sleep, Cass calls into work before slowly and painfully breaking the news to Ryan. Ryan takes the loss of Laura hard, but nowhere near as hard as Cass. She allows Ryan to miss his first day of school to deal with the loss of yet another person in his life. The two siblings spend the day on the couch, watching TV, trying not to think about Laura's death.

Later that night, another knock sounds on her front door, and on the other side stands Derek, again.

"Hi," she says, quietly, stepping aside and letting him inside.

"There's a new alpha. Whoever killed Laura, did it to become one," Derek says, bluntly, and Cass winces slightly at the mention of her deceased best friend.

"How do you know?" Cass asks with a frown.

"Because your neighbor, Scott McCall, was bitten last night," he answers, and Cass' breath catches in her throat.

"You've gotta be kidding," she whispers. "Oh my god... You've gotta be kidding," she says, louder.

"I've talked to him, he knows what he is. And there's another thing," Derek says, looking at her seriously. "The Argents are back," he finishes, and Cass' shocked face, turns into a stony glare.

"Does that mean Kate-," she starts.

"No. She's not here," Derek says, and Cass' glare lessens slightly. "Its just her brother, and his wife and daughter."

"We're gonna have to watch Scott, just to be sure he's okay. I'll let Ryan know so he can keep an eye on him in school," Cass says, and Derek nods slightly. "We can help him."

"Good. Because he's gonna need all the help he can get so he doesn't kill anyone," Derek says, and Cass nods, not at all fazed by the bluntness of this statement, because she knows that he's not saying this to be mean. Its just simply a fact. A very dangerous fact. "The police took the other half of Laura's body," he says, and Cass nods hesitantly. "I'm gonna bury the other half by the house when I find her again."

"Okay... Well, um... Let me know when... I'll come by and help you," she says, feeling like she needs to be there to put her best friend to rest. Derek understands this, and nods once.

"I'll let you know," Derek confirms, before turning around to leave.

"Hey, where are you staying?" Cass asks, suddenly, looking at the werewolf curiously.

"The house," he says, not turning around to face her.

"Wha-really?" Cass asks, genuinely shocked by this revelation. She's seen the state of the Hale house since the fire, and it's entirely uninhabitable."Derek, you don't have to stay there," Cass says when Derek remains silent. "There's free rooms here," she starts, but cuts herself off when she remembers that the only free rooms in her home are the guest room, with Laura's things in them, and her father's old room.

"I'm fine," Derek says, his tone leaving no room for arguments. This ceases anything Cass would have to say on the subject, and she nods mutely.

"Well, if you ever change your mind...," Cass trails off, the invitation implied.

"I'll keep that in mind," Derek says, before pulling the front door open and leaving without another word. Cass sighs, and turns the lights off in the kitchen and living room before heading upstairs. She glances at the door of the guest room with a sad look on her face, before turning to go into her own bedroom, where she doesn't emerge from for the rest of the night.

_**-Spellbound-**_

**NEW STORY ALERT**

**Baby, Stay With Me**

**(Stiles Stilinski/Charlotte Salvatore)**

**A Teen Wolf/Vampire Diaries crossover**

**Summary: **What if Charlotte 'Charlie' Salvatore takes her eldest brother's advice when he tells her to leave Mystic Falls without Stefan? What happens to our favorite she-Salvatore when she heads clear across the country to the small town of Beacon Hills? She gets mixed up in all the Beacon Hills drama, of course. 'Same OC as The Sacred Bond Of Family'

**New outfits for this chapter on Polyvore. Link on my profile! Go check them out.**

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